Alignment and packaging unit for eggs

ABSTRACT

An egg alignment and packaging unit so designed and arranged that a number of eggs supplied at random are aligned and placed in a predetermined number and finally contained in an egg container, so that the egg packaging operation can be performed both positively and efficiently.

United States Patent 1 91 Field of Search 453/59 R, 61, 62, 166, 246

Noguchi' 1451' Mar. 27, 1973 541 A IGNMENT AND PACKAGING UNIT [56]References Cited 5 FOR EGGS I I UNITED STATES PATENTS [76] Invent-O"Hflmji fl g N Ala 2,895,589 7/1959 Rostron .1 ..198/33' Ko-Jizo- Oaza,Tokorozawa, 3,592,001 7 1971 Gross A Primary ExaminerTravis S. McGehee[22] q' 1971 Att0rneyAlvin Browdy et a].

21 Appl. No.: 205,638 [57] ABSTRACT An eg'g alignment and packaging unitso designed and I g [52] l J.S. Cl. ...53 /62, 53/166, 53/246 arrangedthat a number f eggs Supplied at random [51] Int.Cl. ..B65b 57/10 arealigned and placed in a predetermined number and finally contained in anegg container, sothat the egg packaging operation can be performed bothpositiyely and efiiciently.

6 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures INVENTOR BY 5% Mi ATTORNEYSPATENTEDF4AR27197; 3,722,173

swan 20F 7 INVENTOR BY %w Z/M% AZ ATTORNEYS PATENTEDHARZYIQIS SHEET 3 BF7 fin 4a INVENTOR BYW PATEHTFBHARZHSB 3,722 l SHEET 5 or 7 will I I I! OO Q INVENTOR M/UM/ BY wa/la ATTORNEYS PATENTEDHARZYIBTS SHEET 6 OF 7 33lNVEN"l"OR 77 /64 1 BY a 11% ATTORNEYS P-ATENTEDHARNIQY; 3,722,173

I sum 7 OF 7 fiMq/f #90006 I ATTORNEYS INVENTOR v and'sequentially intoan alignment device.

, 1 ALIGNMENT AND PACKAGING UNIT FOR EGGS This invention relates to anegg alignment and packaging unit so designed and arranged that a numberof eggs supplied at random are aligned andplaced in a predeterminednumber and finally contained in 'an egg container, so that the eggpackaging operation can be performed both positively and efficiently;More particularly, this unit is so devised that the eggs supplied atrandom, that is, with their blunt and acute ends directed arbitrarily,can be sequentially aligned in the correct orientation when they areplaced in a predetermined number, and the eggs so aligned can then becontained in the container accurately and positively.

It is well known in the art that the storage life of the eggs can beprolonged by containing and packaging eggs, with their acute endsdirected downwards,'in a container having ten or twelve or morerecesses. Placing of a number of accurately aligned eggs in a containerwith high degree of efficiency is hardly attainable by manual operation,and an automatic unit for pervide a machine whereby the eggs supplied atrandom,

that is, with their blunt and acute ends directed in an arbitrarymanner, are aligned in their orientation and contained at a time into acontainer in a predetermined I number in a positive and efficient way.

I Another object of the present invention is to provide a machinewhereby the eggs can be supplied'positively A further object of thepres'ent'invention is to pro- I vide a machine so designed that theeggs'in excess of vide a machine so designed that the egg containers aremoved to a position beneath the saucers adapted to receive eggs and theeggs arecontained in said container positively and sequentially.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a machine sodesigned that the container contain-,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a certain portion thereof;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a saucer;

F IG. 9 is a side elevation thereof;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the drive mechanism for transfer blades;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of part of the packaging device; r

FIG. 12 is a side elevation of substantial part thereof;

FIG-13 is an explanatory view of the operation of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a front view showing part of the packaging process; and

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the egg container.

FIG. 2 shows in plan view an overall device A for alignment of eggsbeing transferred. This device A has an inlet opening a at one end forreceiving eggs 1 from a delivery device and an outlet opening a at theother for discharging eggs 1 therefrom. A passage b extending from inletopening a and another passage b' extending towards the outlet opening ais interposed by a passage of alignment B. A reversing plane 2 is formedat the end of said passage b extending from inlet opening a at a certainangle with respect to the passage b. A

' guide plane 3 is provided away from the position of said reversingplane 2 and extending towards the inlet opening. a predetermined numberof eggs is moved further FIG. 1 is a 'plan view of an eggaligmnent andpackaging plant comprising five processing lines;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the alignment device;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of some portion of the samedevice;

FIG..4 is an enlarged perspective view of other tions of the samedevice;

F IG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line VV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a device for placing a predetermined number ofeggs in a row;

ing a. Said guide plane 3 extends from the mid position of said passageb at a moderate angle of inclination.

The numeral 4 denotes support rolls of circular cross section rotatablymounted at either ends by chains 5, 5

which in turn are movably mounted in the inside of the alignment deviceA. Said support rolls 4 are axially mounted by said chains 3 5, 5' atfixed intervals therebe'tween so as to support eggs 1 in a nipping wayfrom the underside. Said support rolls 4, 4 are movable through thealignment passage B and a recessed seat 40 is formed on one end of eachsupport roll 4, for carrying the curved peripheral part of the eggs 1being transferred. Each support roll 4 is formed as a roll part of equaldiameter 4b except for said recessed seat 4a. In operation, said rollpart 4b is moved through said passage ['9 while said seat 4a is movedthrough said passage b'-. A fixed plate F is. mounted beneathsaidpassage b so as to be extended from said inlet opening a to a positionjust ahead of the reversing plane 2. Roll parts 4b of support rolls 4are kept in abutting contact with the upper side of said fixed plate Fand are rotatable about their axes when the support rolls 4 are kept inabutting contact with stationary plate F. I

The numeral 6 denotes a transfer member with two parallel edges 6a, 6b.Said transfer member 6 is positioned so that one end part thereof ismaintained in proximity to the recessed seat 4a of the last roll 4positioned at the outlet opening a of the alignment device A. Said edgesare inclined downwards starting from the end close to the alignmentdevice.

The numeral 7 denotes a feed device rotatable by means of a ring memberand the like and arranged on top of said transfer member 6 and inproximity to the outlet opening a of the alignment device A. Said feeddevice 7 is formed by a number of outwardly projecting rods 7a, 7bmaintained at fixed intervals and coupled together by links 8, 8. Thedistance between said rods 7a, 7b selected to be smaller than the axiallength of theegg l.

The numeral 9 denotes a microswitch having a depending operating piece9a, which is disposed on top of the end part of said transfer member 6.When the eggs 1 rollingly moved on said transfer member 6 acts on saidpiece 9a in excess of a predetermined number of times, a retarding lever10 mounted in proximity to said microswitch 9 is set in rotation throughrelay operation of the latter and energization of a solenoid, notshown.Chains 12, 12 are mounted on dual sprockets 11 11' so 'as to be extendedin the direction of said transfer member 6. Saucers 13 mounted on bothsaid chains 12,

12 at fixed intervals therebetween are bent upwards on both of its edges13a, 13a" in a trough-like configuration. Said saucers 13 are sodesigned that they will come to a stop at a position beneath the endpart of said transfer member 6. Each actuation of the piece 9a ofmicroswitch 9 energizes an electromagnetic clutch through relayoperation of the microswitch 9 and the chains 12, 12' are set intointermittent motion so that the next saucer 13 will come to a halt at aposition beneath the end part of the transfer member 6. The

, device C for placing a predetermined number of eggs in position isconstructed in the above-mentioned way.

FIG. 11 shows, in perspective, a device D for placing said predeterminednumber of eggs in an egg contained. Transfer blades 16 secured to arotable shaft mounted axially to two frames 14, 14 are positioned sothat their end parts are kept in proximity to a predetermined number of,for example five, saucers 13when rotated. To both lateral ends of theshaft 15, on either sides of the transfer blades 6, cams 17, 17 aresecured in the identical relative orientations. Two parallel operatinglevers 19, 19 are rotatably mounted axially to said frames 14 by pins18, so that said cams 17, 17

will come in abutment with the upper sides of said operating levers 19,19. Curved guide plates 21 facing to the front side of said saucers 13are secured to the support rodssecured at either ends to the foremostparts of said operating levers 19, 19'. A tension spring 22 isinterposed between the center part of the support rod 20 and an upperframe 14".

A bevel gear 23 secured to the end part of the sh 15 meshes with a bevelgear loosely fitted on a rotatable shaft 24 mounted at right angles withthe shaft 15 and set in perpetual rotation. A clutch member 25engageable with the rotatable shaft 24 is formed integrally with bevelgear 25 in a way so that when the operating lever 25a of the clutchmember 25 is held in stationary position the mutual engagement betweenclutch member25 and rotatable shaft 24 is unlocked, and when theoperating lever 25a. is set free, the clutch member 25' is brought intolocking engagement with the rotatable shaft 24. A solenoid 26 isenergized when five eggs 1 are placed in juxtaposition on the uppersurfaces of the five saucers 13. An operating lever 26' of the solenoid26 is movable in a direction perpendicular to the operating lever 25a ofsaid clutch member 25. A projectingpiece 28 is secured to said rotatableshaft 15, so as to act on microswitch 27.

. The numerals 29, 29 denote chains mounted on drive rings 30', 30' andextending beneath and at right angles with the said chains l2, 12.Support bases 30 are mounted at fixed intervals on said chains 29, 29.Said support base 30 is rectangular in its configuration and openedtowards the upperside. The arrangement is such that said chains 29, 29are moved intermittently by operation of said microswitch 27.

The numeral 31 denotes an egg container or package comprising a base 33and a cover 33' interposed by a folding edge 32 and two rows of fiverecesses 34 are formed on both said base 33 and cover 33. Said base 33is insertable remoyably in said support base 30.

The numeral 35 denotes a welding device having a curved guide rod 36 forfolding said cover 3 3'- of the container 31 onto said base 33,- and avertically movable welding rod 37 towards the back. i

The numeral 38 denotes a guide plate, and the numeral 39 a beltconveyor.

The numeral 40 denotes a delivery device having a delivery end 40 placedin juxtaposition with inlet opening a of said alignment device A. Aninclined transport plate 41' is positioned between its discharge opening40"and inlet opening a. A number of rolls 41 are mounted movably betweensupply opening 40" and delivery opening 40' so as to support eggs 1 fromthe underside in a nipping way. A resilient guide rod 42 is positionedso as to be inclined from the inside of the delivery device towards saiddelivery opening 40.

FIG. 1 shows a five lane plant with juxtaposed five alignment andpackaging systems each comprising said devices a A, C, D and 35. Thesupply opening 40 of the delivery device 40 of each series is providedwith a weighing device 43. Five weighing devices are arranged inposition through an egg feed device 44, the incipient side of which isconnected to an egg inspection unit 45, which in turn is connected onits supply side to a washing unit, not shown. Said weighing devices 43are intended for weighing eggs of different weights. The eggstransferred through a feed unit 44 through these weighing devices 43 aresorted into extralarge, large, medium,- small, and extra small,-according to their weights.

The terminal parts of the chains 29, 29 of the five alignment andpackaging units are positioned at a point P. The terminal ends of therespective belt conveyors 39 are connected to a common belt conveyor 46,the end part of which is connected to a final collecting station orturntable 47.

The operation of aligning and packaging of eggs by use of theabove-mentioned alignment and packaging units will now be explained.

The eggs 11 are supplied continuously from the supply opening 40" of thedelivery unit 40, eggs 1 are supported by rolls 41, 41 from theunderside and delivered in the direction of the arrow mark (T They arefed in this way one by one by guide rod 42 and deliveredon the transferplate 41 from the delivery opening 40'. Eggs vl are dropped one by oneinto the inlet opening a of the alignment device A and carried by rollparts 4b, 4b of support rolls 4, 4.

Support rolls 4 are keptinabutment with the upper surface of thestationary plate F, as they are moved in the direction of the arrow mark(U), so that-the rolls 4 are rotated axially as indicated by the arrowmarks of FIGS. 3 and 4. Thus, the eggs are rotated, in the c arrow mark(U), .will be given such a movement that the blunt end B is subjected toa considerable axial rotation compared to the acute end e. Thus, theblunt end E will be turned round and slide lengthwise from theperipheral side of the roll part 4b towards the recessed seat 4a. Theegg 1 will be received by recessed seats 4a, 4a, with its acute end esliding laterally along and in abutment with the guide plane 3. Thus,the egg 1 is positioned in the passage b and transfered in the sameposture in the direction of the arrow mark (U).

Supposing that the egg I delivered to the inlet opening a and carried bysupport rolls 4, 4 should be supported with the blunt end E towards therecessed seat 44, it is transferred in the same posture, as its bluntend e will abut on the side of the passage b and it will be hinderedfrom sliding laterally, although it'is turned axially by roll parts 4b,4b when transferred in the direction of the arrow mark (U). Ahead of thereversing face 2, support rolls 4 come clear of the stationary plate Fand is hindered from axial rotation. When the egg is transferred in suchposture, the blunt end a will first abut on the reversing plane 2, onaccount of the inclined arrangement of the latter. Since the acute end eof the egg 1 is lighter in weight and more inclined to float upwards,the acute end e will be compelled to float, as shownby the arrow mark(W) of FIG. 4. Thus, the .egg 1 is reversed in its position with theblunt end B as its axis and along said reversing plane 2, as shown bythe arrow mark (X), and dropped into the seats 4a, The egg 1 is nowreceived into the passage b and the direction of its acute end e-will bereversed. In this way, the' eggs 1 supported in the passage b and byrecessed seats'4a, 4a of the support rolls 4, 4 are transferred withoutany'vibrations and aligned in their orientation, as they are transferredto the outlet opening a.

The eggs 1 transferred towards the outlet opening a" are engaged by rods70, 7b of the feed device 7 movable in the direction of the arrow mark(Y), as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and are placed on the upper edges 6a, 6bof the transfer member 6. Simultaneously, they are transferred in thedirection shown by the arrow mark (Y) by rods 7a, 7b, with theirorientations unchanged.

' Eggs 1 are then set free from rods 7a, 7b and allowed to roll on theupper surface of the transfer member 6. They will then act on theoperating piece 9a and drop on the saucer 13 from the end part of thetransfer member 6. By actuation of the operating piece 9a, microswitch 9is energized, thus setting the chains 12,

12- into intermittent movement. These chains will come to a halt whenthe next blank saucer 13 is fed to a Base 33 of the container 31 isinserted-in advance into the support base 30, which is kept in aposition beneath said saucer l3 ready for receiving eg I.

Therefore, the eggs 1, pushed by the blades 16 forwardly, are droppedwith their acute ends first. At this time, cams 17, 17 are rotatedpartiallywith revolution 7 of the rotary shaft and act to depressoperating rods 19, 19. Thus, the spring 22 will be expanded, thuslowering the guide plate 21. The acute ends e of the eggs I pushed fromthe saucers13 will be so guided that they will abut against the face ofthe guide plate 21 and thus directed downwards. In this way, five eggs 1are accommodated at a time into a row of five recesses 34 on the base 33of the container, with their acute ends e downwards.

Simultaneously with the droppingof the five eggs 1, the downwardpressure exerted by the rotating cams 17, 17 on the operating rods 19,19 is reduced to null. Thus, the guide plate 21 is elevated to itsinitial position under the tensile force exerted by the spring 22.Simultaneously therewith, the blades 16 are rotatedpartially,

to their initial positions. The projecting piece 28 acts at this time onthe microswitch 27, thus the chains 29, 29 i being set into motion sothat the support base'30 is dis-.

movement alternately.

position beneath the end part of the transfer member 6.

In this way, five eggs I are placed on five saucers 13 arranged injuxtaposition to each other, with the acute ends e of the eggs directedunanimously towards guide 7 plate 21.

The operating rod 26 of solenoid 26, which has once been retracted, is'returned immediately to its projected" position. Thus, the operatingrod' 25a. of the clutch member 25, which has made one completerevolution, abuts on the rod 26', so as to interrupt the connectionbetween clutch member 25 and rotatable shaft 24.

Thus, the bevel gear 25 and the blades 16 will come to a stop.

In this way, eggs 1 are contained within ten recesses 34 of the base 33of the egg container 31 with their acute ends e downwards. Then, thecover 33' of the container 31 moved in the direction shownby the arrowmark (Z) in FIG. 14 with movement of chains 29, 29 is folded over theupper surface of the base 33 under the action of the guide rod 36. Then,the welding rod 37 is moved downwards for welding the peripheral partsof the base 33 and cover 33 both of which are prepared from syntheticmaterial. The egg container 31' is further moved downwards through theaid of a guide plate 38, then disengaged from support base 30 andtransferred to'a collecting station by means of a belt conveyor 39.

In this way, eggs 1 are aligned in their orientation and arranged in agroup of five and finally contained in the container 31.

Next, the operation of the processing plant shown in FIG. 1 will now beexplained. Eggs 1 supplied from inspection unit 45 by means of a feeddevice 44 are weighed and sorted by weighing device 43 into five weightgroups, namely extra large, large, medium,

small and extra small. Then, the eggs .1 of the same I weight groups aresupplied into their respective transport devices 40 and aligned in theirorientations and packed in their respective units.

alignment and packaging number of eggs can be maintained in positionbeneath egg receiving saucers.

and efficient packaging of eggs in such a way that the eggs delivered atrandom are aligned in their orientation and placed in a group .of apredetermined number I of eggs and then contained at a time in an eggcontainer with their acute ends downwards.

At this time, operators can perform at point P an operation of placingcontainers 31 on the respective support bases 30 belonging to the fivedifferent units. The containers 31 delivered by five belt conveyors 39are finally supplied to belt conveyor 46 and collected I on theturntable 47. The containers for five different grades .of eggs shouldpreferably be marked with different colors.

According to the present device, even when the eggs In addition, eggscan be delivered to said alignment device most positively by a transferdevice comprising a number of axially rotatable rolls.

The number of eggs to be delivered to the saucers can be controlled to apredetermined'nurnber by provision of a retarding bar actuatable from amicroswitch.

The egg container receiving 21' predetermined A cover can be applied tothe container and welded thereto so that the packaging operation can beper formed fully automatically.

Furthermore, several grades of eggs with different weights. can bepackaged separately by placing several aligning and packaging units injuxtaposition.

,In sum, the present packaging unit enables positive What is claimed is:

. 4O 1. An alignment and packaging unit for eggs comprising:

i. an alignment device for aligning the eggs in their orientations, saiddeviceincluding a first passage extending from an inlet opening and asecond passage extending towards an outlet opening, an alignment passageinterposed between said first and second passages and having a reversingplane situated at the end of said first passage and towards the end ofsaid second passage, movable support vrolls mounted in said threepassages for supporting said eggs in a nipping way from the underside,said support rolls performing axial revolution from the inlet side toahead of said reversing plane, said support rolls being formed withrecessed seats at the one end part of their periphery, said seats beingpositioned in said second passage and alignment passage; a device forplacing a predetermined number of eggs in a row, comprising an operatingrod of a 60 microswitch for counting the number of eggs aligned in theirorientation by the alignment device and delivered from the outlet endthereof, a number of saucers arranged in a line at fixed intervals andmovable intermittently by the distance between adjacent saucers byoperation of the microswitch, said saucers receiving eggs one one sothat a predetermined number of eggs are placed in the correctorientation on the predetermined number of saucers; and I iii. apackaging device for the predetermined number of eggs comprising movableblades mounted on top of said saucers and adapted for electricalactuation upon placement of a predetermined number of eggs on saidsaucers, vertically movable guide plates operable in gear with themovement front side of said saucers and having a number of recesses.

2.. An alignment and packaging unit as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a delivery device connected to. the inlet opening of saidalignment device and connected at the other end to the egg deliveryside, said delivery device including a number of rolls mounted at fixedintervals between each other, said rolls supporting the eggs in anipping way.

3. An alignment and packaging unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein aretarding bar is movably mounted in proximity to the operating piece ofthe microswitch provided to said device for placing a predeterminednumber of eggs, said retarding bar being operable by operation of themicroswitch upon placement of a predetermined number of eggs on the samepredetermined number of saucers.

4. An alignment and packaging unit as'claimed in claim '1, furthercomprising chains mounted beneath said saucers and mounting supportbases at fixed intervals, said support bases receiving egg containersremovably, said chains being movable intermittently by the relayoperation in gear with the movement of said blades.

5. An alignment and packaging unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidcontainer is formed from synthetic material and comprises a baseconnected integrally with a cover weldable to said base by means of awelding device.

' 6. A processing unit comprising a plurality of said alignment andpackaging units inwaccordance with I claim 1 arranged in juxtaposition,wherein the respective delivery devices connected to the alignment andpackaging units are connected to the weighing units annexed to the eggfeed device extending from inspection unit provided on the egg deliveryside, the terminal parts of the welding and packaging units in eachalignment and packaging unit being connected torespective transfer unitswhich in tum are connected to. a single collecting station.

1. An alignment and packaging unit for eggs comprising: i. an alignmentdevice for aligning the eggs in their orientations, said deviceincluding a first passage extending from an inlet opening and a secondpassage extending towards an outlet opening, an alignment passageinterposed between said first and second passages and having a reversingplane situated at the end of said firSt passage and towards the end ofsaid second passage, movable support rolls mounted in said threepassages for supporting said eggs in a nipping way from the underside,said support rolls performing axial revolution from the inlet side toahead of said reversing plane, said support rolls being formed withrecessed seats at the one end part of their periphery, said seats beingpositioned in said second passage and alignment passage; ii. a devicefor placing a predetermined number of eggs in a row, comprising anoperating rod of a microswitch for counting the number of eggs alignedin their orientation by the alignment device and delivered from theoutlet end thereof, a number of saucers arranged in a line at fixedintervals and movable intermittently by the distance between adjacentsaucers by operation of the microswitch, said saucers receiving eggs oneby one so that a predetermined number of eggs are placed in the correctorientation on the predetermined number of saucers; and iii. a packagingdevice for the predetermined number of eggs comprising movable bladesmounted on top of said saucers and adapted for electrical actuation uponplacement of a predetermined number of eggs on said saucers, verticallymovable guide plates operable in gear with the movement of said bladesadapted for pushing eggs forwards from the saucers for guiding the acuteends of the eggs, and an egg container placed to the lower front side ofsaid saucers and having a number of recesses.
 2. An alignment andpackaging unit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a deliverydevice connected to the inlet opening of said alignment device andconnected at the other end to the egg delivery side, said deliverydevice including a number of rolls mounted at fixed intervals betweeneach other, said rolls supporting the eggs in a nipping way.
 3. Analignment and packaging unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein a retardingbar is movably mounted in proximity to the operating piece of themicroswitch provided to said device for placing a predetermined numberof eggs, said retarding bar being operable by operation of themicroswitch upon placement of a predetermined number of eggs on the samepredetermined number of saucers.
 4. An alignment and packaging unit asclaimed in claim 1, further comprising chains mounted beneath saidsaucers and mounting support bases at fixed intervals, said supportbases receiving egg containers removably, said chains being movableintermittently by the relay operation in gear with the movement of saidblades.
 5. An alignment and packaging unit as claimed in claim 1,wherein said container is formed from synthetic material and comprises abase connected integrally with a cover weldable to said base by means ofa welding device.
 6. A processing unit comprising a plurality of saidalignment and packaging units in accordance with claim 1 arranged injuxtaposition, wherein the respective delivery devices connected to thealignment and packaging units are connected to the weighing unitsannexed to the egg feed device extending from inspection unit providedon the egg delivery side, the terminal parts of the welding andpackaging units in each alignment and packaging unit being connected torespective transfer units which in turn are connected to a singlecollecting station.